The Show In Their Futures?

The start of every minor-league baseball season brings to mind Roger Kahn's book "Good Enough to Dream.''

The celebrated author was talked into becoming the principal stockholder of the Utica (N.Y.) Blue Sox and spent the summer of 1983 running baseball's only indepedent minor-league franchise. The players received $500 per month, and that had to cover their living expenses including meals on the road.

The business of baseball has come a long way in 24 years - and one look at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, a 7,500-seat facility that's home to the Staten Island Yankees, tells us just how much things have changed.

Chien-Ming Wang, Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano all cut their professional teeth at the waterfront ballpark.

The dreams of young ballplayers remain the same. The Baby Bombers open the 76-game New York-Penn League season Tuesday night in Brooklyn, and then host the Cyclones in their own home opener on Wednesday night.

The young Yankees hail from all corners of the United States, many of them college products who signed their first pro contracts within the past two weeks. There's an international flavor to the roster, too, with several prospects from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.